21/07/2026
Why We Started with Your Gut
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola
July 20, 2026
Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid that serves as the primary fuel for the cells lining your
colon. These cells rely on it for the majority of their energy, making it one of the most
important molecules for gut health
Your gut bacteria produce butyrate by fermenting fiber, but modern diets and disrupted
microbiomes mean many people make too little, and the gut suffers for it
Conventional butyrate supplements are largely absorbed high in the digestive tract and
destroyed before reaching the colon, where the molecule does its most important work —
a textbook delivery failure
That combination — deep, well-documented benefit plus near-total delivery failure —
makes butyrate the ideal proving ground for targeted delivery technology
It is the reason we chose the gut as the first demonstration of what 22nd Century delivery
can do, and why more than 35,000 people are already waiting for what comes next
In the first two articles, I described the delivery problem and the technology that solves
it. Now I want to tell you where we chose to prove it first, and why the choice became
obvious the moment we looked at the science. We started with the gut — specifically,
with a molecule called butyrate.
If you have not heard of butyrate, you are far from alone. But it may be one of the most
important molecules in your body that you have never once thought about. And it is the
single clearest illustration I know of why delivery is everything — a molecule whose
benefits are not in serious scientific dispute, yet which almost no one actually receives
the full benefit of, for one simple reason: it rarely reaches the place where it works.
Butyrate — The Fuel Your Colon Runs On
Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) produced when certain beneficial bacteria in
your gut ferment dietary fiber. According to research on PubMed, butyrate is the primary
energy source for colonocytes, the cells that line your colon. These cells are unusual:
rather than running primarily on glucose like most of your body, they preferentially burn
butyrate, relying on it for a large majority of their energy. When they have enough of it,
the entire gut lining functions the way it is supposed to.
The documented roles of butyrate are genuinely impressive. Researchers describe it as
a key regulator of the intestinal barrier, helping keep the gut lining tight and intact so
that what belongs inside the gut stays inside the gut. It has well-characterized anti
inflammatory properties. It supports the integrity of the junctions between the cells of
the gut wall. And it acts as a signaling molecule, influencing immune function and even
gene expression through its activity on specific receptors and pathways.
The scientific interest does not stop at the gut. A growing body of research connects
healthy butyrate levels to benefits reaching well beyond digestion — into metabolism,
immune balance, and the increasingly studied communication network between the gut
and the brain. The more closely researchers look at butyrate, the more central it appears
to be.
How a Healthy Gut Makes Its Own Butyrate
In a well-functioning gut, the process is elegant. You eat fermentable fiber — the kind
found in a range of plant foods. That fiber passes undigested into your lower gut, where
specific beneficial bacteria ferment it and produce butyrate as a byproduct. The butyrate
immediately feeds your colonocytes, which use the energy to maintain a healthy, low
oxygen environment in the gut.
That environment, in turn, favors the very bacteria that produce more butyrate. It is a
virtuous cycle, and when it runs well, it largely takes care of itself.
The key insight is that butyrate is meant to be produced and used right where it is made
— locally, in the colon, in close contact with the cells that depend on it. This local nature
is central to everything that follows, because it is exactly what makes butyrate so
difficult to supplement effectively.
The Catch — Most People Make Too Little
Here is where the modern world breaks the cycle. Many people simply do not produce
enough butyrate, for reasons such as:
• Low fiber intake — Modern diets are often low in the fermentable fiber that butyrate
producing bacteria need as raw material. No raw material, no butyrate.
• Disrupted microbial balance — When the balance of gut bacteria is thrown off, the
specific organisms that produce butyrate can dwindle, and production falls with
them.
• Inflammatory pressures — A range of modern dietary and lifestyle factors promote
the kind of gut environment in which butyrate producers struggle and less helpful
organisms thrive.
When butyrate production drops, the consequences ripple outward. As the gut lining
loses its preferred fuel, the barrier can start to weaken and inflammation may set in. The
very environment that favors butyrate producers begins to erode, which reduces
production further. The virtuous cycle can become a vicious one.
The Obvious Fix That Doesn't Work
If your gut is not making enough butyrate, the obvious solution is to take butyrate as a
supplement. And here is where everything from the first two articles comes crashing
together, because conventional butyrate supplementation runs straight into the delivery
problem — in one of its purest forms.
Butyrate taken in conventional form is largely absorbed high in the digestive tract, long
before it reaches the colon where it is needed most. The molecule that is supposed to
act locally in your lower gut gets taken up early and never arrives at its destination. On
top of that, butyrate in raw form carries a famously unpleasant taste and odor that
makes conventional supplementation genuinely difficult to tolerate.
So you have a molecule with deep, well-documented benefits that conventional
supplementation almost entirely fails to deliver to the right place. If you set out to design
the perfect demonstration of why targeted delivery matters — a case where the
compound clearly works but the delivery clearly fails — you could not invent a better one
than butyrate.
Why the Gut Was the Obvious Place to Start
This is exactly why we chose it. The benefit of butyrate is not the question. The science
there is robust and growing. The only thing standing between that benefit and you is
delivery — getting the molecule past the early digestive tract and releasing it intact in the
colon, where the cells that depend on it are waiting.
Solve that delivery, and you unlock a molecule the research community has been excited
about for years but that consumers have never been able to take proper advantage of.
That is the entire thesis of 22nd Century supplements captured in a single product: take
a compound with proven value, apply targeted delivery so it actually reaches the cells
that need it, and produce a result that conventional supplementation rarely achieves.
The gut was not a random starting point or a marketing decision. It was the clearest,
most provable case we had — the place where solving delivery makes the most
undeniable difference.
How to Support Your Gut's Butyrate Production Now
While I prepare to share what we have been developing, there is a great deal you can do
today to support your own butyrate production from the inside. These foundational
steps benefit most people, though your microbiome is as individual as your fingerprint,
so patience and personalization matter.
1. Repair the terrain first — If you are bloated, irregular, or reactive to high-fiber foods,
calm the inflammation before you try to feed the microbiome. Pushing fiber into an
inflamed gut often backfires, producing more gas and irritation. Start gently and
stabilize first.
2. Remove what suppresses butyrate producers — Industrial seed oils high in linoleic
acid work against the very gut microbes you are trying to support. Replacing fried
foods and processed products made with soybean, corn, sunflower, and canola oils
with traditional fats your body recognizes (such as butter, ghee, or tallow) removes
a constant pressure on your gut ecosystem.
3. Reintroduce fermentable fiber in phases — Once your gut is calm and can tolerate
simple foods without symptoms, reintroduce fermentable fiber gradually — one
source at a time, in small amounts — to give butyrate-producing bacteria the raw
material they need without overwhelming a recovering system.
4. Consider protected postbiotic support — Look for formats with protection — enteric
coating or microencapsulation — so that what you take survives stomach acid and
reaches the colon intact rather than being lost early.
5. Tend the environment around digestion — Your gut responds to more than food.
Consistent sleep aligned with natural light, managed stress, and an overnight
fasting window all support the rhythm and balance your butyrate-producing bacteria
need to thrive.
A Closer Look at the Food Strategy
Because food is the foundation of butyrate production, it is worth getting specific about
what helps and what hurts — and about the order in which to do things, because order
matters more than most people realize.
Start with foods that stabilize rather than provoke. When the gut is inflamed, even
"healthy" high-fiber foods can backfire, fermenting too fast and producing gas, pressure,
and more irritation. In the early phase, simple, gentle carbohydrates such as white rice
and ripe fruit provide steady energy without feeding the wrong organisms. The goal at
this stage is calm, not fiber.
Advance to fermentable fiber only when you are ready. Once you can tolerate those
simple foods for several consecutive days without bloating, gas, or urgency, begin
introducing resistant starch — cooked-and-cooled potatoes, green bananas, legumes —
one source at a time and in small amounts.
These fibers bypass digestion in the small intestine and travel to the colon, where they
become prime fuel for butyrate-producing bacteria. Only after that is well tolerated
should you progress to inulin-rich foods such as onions, garlic, and leeks.
Add fermented foods slowly. Traditionally fermented foods such as raw sauerkraut and
kefir can broaden microbial diversity and support butyrate-producing strains. Start with
very small amounts to test tolerance, especially if your gut is sensitive, and build from
there.
Consider testing for objective insight. A stool analysis can reveal which bacteria are
present, whether your gut is inflamed, and how well you are producing SCFAs. That
information lets you personalize your food and supplement choices rather than
guessing, which is exactly the kind of data-guided approach the best modern tools are build around.
